Air Bags of F350

[Jimmer]

I just went to a 2014 Montana 3582RL and I noticed it has more tongue weigh than my Big Country.. I noticed I am running all the way down on my over loads. Just curious how many RVers are running air bags? Looking for some ideas and any recommendations on a good air bag to go to?

Jim & Margie Bonhote
2014 Montana 3582RL
2006 F350 Lariat 4X4 Crew Cab SWB

[Art-n-Marge]

I am now within weight margins for my 2006 F250 Lariat 4X4 CC SRW LWB by upgrading to a Ford F-350 suspension (as an F-250 I was overweight). All the Ford hardware is in place (overload spring, brackets and hardware) and I also replaced the wheels and tires to match the F-350 ratings and I did this to make my truck weight compliant for my Private use. If I want to use my F-250 suspension conversion to F-350 for commercial purposes, I would be required to recertify my truck (gets examined and a new VIN to denote the conversion), but I didn't want to go through that part of the cost. For example, I towed trailers commercially for a few months through all the western states but could only carry loads that satisfy an F-250 since I only had an F-250 VIN. This is the requirement in California and when driving in other states. Your state may vary.

The air bags will probably make the ride smoother and help raise the back end to lower the front end (especially for night driving not turning my headlights into highbeams). But if you are overweight, in your case, you'll need to get a dually since there's no way to increase an F-350's weight ratings easily. Both my wife and I noticed a big difference before and after air bags. Your configuration may vary. When I upgraded the suspension, we didn't notice any change except that we felt good the upgrade increased our weight ratings in our case. This can't always be done for all trucks, but 3/4 SRW upgrade to 1 ton SRW is typically springs, wheels and tires.

For air bag recommendations we went with Firestone since my fifth wheel hitch hardware didn't allow for installation of the Air Lift brand. There might be other brands, but I tried Air Lift first at CW but they sent me elsewhere to get Firestone because of the fitment problem. It cost a little more but they do fit and they are working great for us. We also got the onboard compressor and the in-cab controls to inflate/deflate from the driver's seat. The alternative is to locate the air nozzles somewhere on the truck (other's use near the rear bumper and use their own plug in compressor) but we opted for convenience any time or place where we happened to be.

[1retired06]

We have a 350 Dually, and I found it necessary to install Firestone Airbags, and glad I did.

[richfaa]

We installed air bags on our 08 F-0350 dually. We did it to be able to level out the rig. We dropped nearly 4 inches with the 06 3400 hooked up just touching the overloads but we ere not level front to back. The Air bags solved that issue and made for a better ride.

[Tom S.]

Both Firestone and Air Lift offer lifetime warranties on their bags, so I would look at ease of installation first and price second.

[richfaa]

We have got Airlift both are good brands. We got them a C.W on sale and they did the installation. The installation was perfect with not a problem since 2009.

[JandC]

quote:Originally posted by Jimmer

I just went to a 2014 Montana 3582RL and I noticed it has more tongue weigh than my Big Country.. I noticed I am running all the way down on my over loads. Just curious how many RVers are running air bags? Looking for some ideas and any recommendations on a good air bag to go to?

Jim & Margie Bonhote
2014 Montana 3582RL
2006 F350 Lariat 4X4 Crew Cab SWB

I went with Firestone bags. My controller for the air is in my cab which I think was worth the extra bucks.

[maximo]

I put on the Firestone air bags and it made a real differance. The two air nozzles for the bags have acorn nuts on them and are the same bolts that hold the rear license plate.

Frank

[1retired06]

Forgot to add, Firestone has vehicle specific kits, which are very easy to install, no drilling, and took me better part of a Saturday morning to install.

[johncamtravel]

Went with Firestone Air Bags. Very happy with them. Made a big difference in handling and leveling of the truck. To me it was
well worth the money paid for them. And I was able to install them myself in about 3Hrs. I tow with about 45Lbs of air in them. And about 10Lbs of air when not towing. The difference was night and day with them installed.

[Jimmer]

Thanks for all of the advice. I think the majority went with Firestone and that sounds like the way to go.

Jim and Margie Bonhote
2014 Montana 3582RL
2006 Ford F350 Lariat.

[WeBeFulltime]

Do yourself a favor and look at the PacBrake brand before deciding. Their's are often overlooked and are high quality and priced like the others. Just saying.

[Tom S.]

quote:Originally posted by maximo

I put on the Firestone air bags and it made a real differance. The two air nozzles for the bags have acorn nuts on them and are the same bolts that hold the rear license plate.

Frank

I like that idea of replacing the license plate bolts with the air valves. Good thinking!

[washley1]

We just ran the two lines to the same valve, and mounted it in an existing hole near the tag. Both are inflated equally. And yes, we needed bags on our F350 dually to level us out.

[worleyjrtx5]

I went with the Firestone and installed with the fill inlets next to the license plates. Only issue: I have a Pull Rite Slider on my 2012 F250. Had to remove the driver side frame bracket to install the driver side air bag. As stated above, 50 lb with Mountaineer on the hitch, 10 lb unloaded.

[JandC]

quote:Originally posted by Jimmer

Thanks for all of the advice. I think the majority went with Firestone and that sounds like the way to go.

Jim and Margie Bonhote
2014 Montana 3582RL
2006 Ford F350 Lariat.

If you don't get the on-board compressor it is a little cheaper. I went with the compressor because I like the idea of being able to adjust the air in the bags while towing down the road. I probably adjust or run air in and out of the bags almost every day while traveling.

[7.3Ford]

Jim,

I have a 2001 F-350 4X4 SRW. I pin weight runs around 2800 to 3200 depending loading. I put Firestone Air bags on to soften the dips you run into before overpasses sometimes. I put 25 psi in them before hooking up the Monty. I never hit the overload springs except when hitting a bump before overpasses, etc, without the Air bags. We use them just to soften the ride a little.

I would recommend you go to a scale, so you have a idea of loads.